Street Fighter Legends: Ryu

Street Fighter Legends: Ryu is finally here. This is my own project that I came up with several months ago and I’m proud of the end result. The idea behind the video is to take a look at the lifestyle and training regimen of Ryu, from Capcom’s Street Fighter series. In the video you’ll see Ryu (portrayed by me) preparing for the next tournament, and doing so anywhere, under any circumstance, anytime. What makes Ryu the “wandering warrior”? The fact that he’s devoted to his martial arts and constantly has the desire to become the best fighter he can. You’ll see Ryu barefoot in the snow doing his Shotokan Karate katas, training in cold, choppy ocean water, climbing without equipment atop sharp rocks, meditating at his dojo, and reflecting on his journey by a waterfall.

My inspiration for the video comes from a few sources. For starters, I love Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie. From the first time I saw it, including every further viewing, I always really enjoyed the training scenes of Ryu and Ken in the forrest, under Master Gouken’s guidance. So much so that I even pitched a game to Capcom entitled, “Street Fighter Legends: Ryu”. The idea for the game was that it’d be an action/adventure title, following one or a couple characters from the Street Fighter universe at a time, up to the Street Fighter tournament.

Though Capcom was interested, such a title never came out…however it might have been an influence in the Street Fighter Legends comic book series by Udon, which is a similar idea to my own. And that brings me to my second source of inspiration which are the awesome Street Fighter comics created by Udon. They really go into the world warriors’ lives and tell a great story.

The final element that motivated me to make this video is that I just love martial arts and have been training in one style or another since I was 4 years old. From wrestling to Tae Kwon Do, Jiu Jitsu to Shotokan, and a few more in between…martial arts and constantly training myself is right up there with my passion for the video game industry in “Paul’s favorites”. The Street Fighter series has had a significant place in my life as well. I remember when I was 7 years old, right after my training sessions I’d go to the nearby 7-11, still in my uniform, and play Street Fighter II. Teenagers would come up and play beside me and I got a kick out of it, because I felt that by playing the game, I was furthering my own real training.

Fast forward in time and I got really connected with so many great people at Capcom, and was even put in Street Fighter Issue #7. That was a thrill for me to say the least, but it was only the beginning, as I’d eventually be called the “Real Life Ryu” by Electronic Gaming Monthly, Nintendo Power, Capcom-Unity.com, and StreetFighter.com. It’d even get better after I won Capcom’s contest to be made into a character in Street Fighter IV, forever cementing me into the Street Fighter universe. A big thanks to Taki Enomoto, Erik Ko, Seth Killian, Shawn Baxter, Yoshinori Ono, and Chari Andrian (to name a few) at Capcom for all of their help, encouragement, invitations to events, and so much more over the years.

Take this, my fan made project and know that you’ve made a fan for life. When I represent United States in the world tournaments I’ve attended, I get into that Ryu mentality and with my 2nd Degree Black Belt in his same style, I feel more fired up that ever when I begin my match. In creating this video, I didn’t feel so much as an actor, but rather someone who really believes in what he’s doing. Capcom, thanks for creating such an awesome franchise. I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Extended thanks:
– David Razavi and ClockTownStudios for making such an excellent soundtrack for this video and for doing such a good job on editing it all together.
– Barbara and John for helping me film and get so many of the iconic shots that I wanted.
– Bitmob, 1up, GoNintendo, Capcom-Unity, Nintendo, EGM, and Udon for helping me leave my mark in Street Fighter history.

Finally, thank you to all of my readers and viewers that continue to check out my site and support me. I greatly appreciate all of you and your efforts. And to my clients, friends, and sources that contribute to my stories, your help makes all the difference in the world.

I hope that you all enjoyed watching this video and just like how I mentioned in the end of it, that if you’re a video gamer and are looking forward to E3 this year, come by my site and ask me any question you want. I will answer all of them, guaranteed. Furthermore, if you have any requests for material you’d like to see me cover/create, let me know. Ask me for personal training tips, martial arts tutorial, or anything you’re interested in, and if I feel qualified on the subject, I’ll be prompt in delivering an answer. Hadouken!